Buzzing "A" string on a Rumblefish

Hear me, Bass Gods:
I just picked up a sweet white Rumblefish 4 with a red tort. pickguard from a small music store. Everything on the bass is fine except for two things:

1. The top, right next to the chrome arm-thingee, has a crack about an inch long in it. Is this something to be concerned about?

2. The "A" string rattles. If I push down on the string between the nut and the tuner, it stops. I think it's because the string doesn't have enough angle to it. Anyone else have this problem? Should I put some sort of a string tree on the headstock just for this string? Any recommendations?

Hear me, Bass Gods:
I just picked up a sweet white Rumblefish 4 with a red tort. pickguard from a small music store. Everything on the bass is fine except for two things:

1. The top, right next to the chrome arm-thingee, has a crack about an inch long in it. Is this something to be concerned about?

2. The "A" string rattles. If I push down on the string between the nut and the tuner, it stops. I think it's because the string doesn't have enough angle to it. Anyone else have this problem? Should I put some sort of a string tree on the headstock just for this string? Any recommendations?

Click to expand...

Dunno about the first one. I think those tops are phenolic? Should be pretty stable, but I'll leave it to the experts.

As for the A string thing, it's pretty common, and usually because of lack of downforce at the nut. You could install another string retainer, or if the string has enough winds around the post, maybe try unwinding the string and then winding it back so that it's lower down on the string post. Usually that helps.

VicThere's more music in the nuance than the notes.Gold Supporting Member

As for the A string thing, it's pretty common, and usually because of lack of downforce at the nut. You could install another string retainer, or if the string has enough winds around the post, maybe try unwinding the string and then winding it back so that it's lower down on the string post. Usually that helps.

Click to expand...

2nd that. Thing is, what it also means is the nut is filed for a wider string than you apparently use. With enough down force (above), it's not a big problem, but eventually, you may wish to have the nut redone to better fit your gauge. Not a expensive to have done, either.

They cut the slot for the "A" string wider than the string your using. My Brad Houser came with the "E" string slot the same way. Oddly enough though in my case, it came with the nut slot cut too wide for the strings they provided. Anyway, not a major issue to repair. Or put on a heavier gauge string.

My bugeye Fish is doing this with the TI Powerbass I put on it (it did not with the OEM SITs) and both A strings are .80. The biggest difference is that the OEM SITs did not taper at all near the end and were wound down all the way to the very bottom of the post (hence more downforce). The TIs taper and weren't able to wrap down quite as far and buzz a bit on the A. Fortunately the buzz is above the nut and not amplified so it's only an annoyance to me and not everyone in earshot.

So my advice is check that the A string is wound all the way down to the bottom of the post. I am considering whether adding string trees makes sense or whether I can just be very careful when changing strings in the future to get them wound all the way down (like the one came new from the factory). If you check the Reverend info they do say to wrap the strings all the way down (where some mfrs just recommend ~3 wraps to avoid slippage - probably because of the difference in headstock design).

Another place where Leo Fender's tapered post tuner would come in handy (it gets the string to the bottom in 2-3 wraps so you don't have to be as exact when trimming the strings).

My bugeye Fish is doing this with the TI Powerbass I put on it (it did not with the OEM SITs) and both A strings are .80. The biggest difference is that the OEM SITs did not taper at all near the end and were wound down all the way to the very bottom of the post (hence more downforce). The TIs taper and weren't able to wrap down quite as far and buzz a bit on the A. Fortunately the buzz is above the nut and not amplified so it's only an annoyance to me and not everyone in earshot.

So my advice is check that the A string is wound all the way down to the bottom of the post. I am considering whether adding string trees makes sense or whether I can just be very careful when changing strings in the future to get them wound all the way down (like the one came new from the factory). If you check the Reverend info they do say to wrap the strings all the way down (where some mfrs just recommend ~3 wraps to avoid slippage - probably because of the difference in headstock design).

Another place where Leo Fender's tapered post tuner would come in handy (it gets the string to the bottom in 2-3 wraps so you don't have to be as exact when trimming the strings).

Click to expand...

Mmmmm, bugeye. . . . Thanks! I did pay attention to the post-winding when I put a set of DR Sunbeams (100s) on it. It did it with the factory strings worse. Just a thought, has anyone tried shimming the too-large slots? Say, using hardwood?

A quick, free shim until you have time to fix it properly is a small piece of card stock or a piece of a business card. The easiest way to repair it properly is to build up the slot with super glue, or superglue mixed with some kind of powdered solid, like ground nut material or sawdust.

Since these are more repair related questions, I am moving this to Setup.